“I’m a lot more connected to people who don’t have an easy way out of their circumstances”: Goran Stolevski on folk-horror You Won’t Be Alone

In Goran Stolevski’s feature debut, You Won’t Be Alone, viewers are transported to a remote village community in 19^th century Macedonia to experience a mysterious and otherworldly, dark fairytale involving ancient spirits and witches that yet remains earthy and grounded in its telling of a young woman’s coming-of-age. Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) leads a formidable cast who take on the role of shape-shifter Nevena at different moments of incarnation, relying on body language and an ethereal voiceover after the character is brutally made mute as a baby when the wolf-eateress Old Maid Maria attempts to kidnap her and rips out her tongue, instead agreeing to come and claim her at 16 when she becomes her witch apprentice of sorts.

The Upcoming sat down with the director to discuss the diverse visual influences behind the film, his dedication to creating a sense of authenticity in the invocation of the era, his stellar cast, including the incredible Rapace, and the use of prosthetics and effects for the more viscerally gory elements. We also discussed the themes of motherhood, yearning for belonging as an outsider and finding one’s identity, which emerge from the folk-infused horror that explores the very nature of being human.

Sarah Bradbury

You Won’t Be Alone is released digitally on demand on 20^th October 2022. Read our review here.

Watch the trailer for You Won’t Be Alone here: